AN INNOVATIVE scheme has been set up in Liverpool to make sure all doctors and scientists in the region share information that could save lives.

The Health Innovation and Education Cluster (HIEC) has been created in Merseyside as part of a Department of Health £11m project. Outreach staff have been employed to ensure research in universities and hospital breakthroughs are passed on to all other health trusts in the region quickly.

The HIEC includes the University of Liverpool, all hospitals and PCTs in Merseyside and Cheshire, industry bodies and other education centres.

Professor David Graham, head of Liverpool University’s Medical School, said: “The HIEC will improve the education and training of the healthcare workforce and speed up the adoption of innovation and research in hospitals and in the community.”

Kathryn Thomson, chief executive of Liverpool Women’s Hospital and chair of the HIEC, added: “We will focus our efforts on key issues affecting the local population.”